Johnson Deal Could Stir Draft

The NFL trade of the new century is on the verge of turning the draft on its ear and making the Tampa Bay Buccaneers heavy favorites to repeat their NFC Central Division title run.

If unhappy New York Jets receiver Keyshawn Johnson can finalize a contract agreement with the Bucs before Saturday's draft, and it's expected he will Wednesday, the Jets are willing to give him up for both of Tampa Bay's first-round picks at No. 13 and No. 27. The Bucs confirmed Tuesday they were talking to Johnson's agent, Jerome Stanley, but the deal was not finalized.

The holdup apparently was over the amount of a signing bonus, with a range of between $12 million and $13 million being discussed. The deal is believed to be worth $7 million a year and likely will be for eight years.

The trade would give the defensive-minded Bucs a much-needed offensive superstar for a team that lost the NFC title game to St. Louis 11-6. It would give the Jets four No. 1 picks, ammunition to trade with the Cleveland Browns for the first overall pick if they desire. Indications are, however, that Jets boss Bill Parcells wants to keep them all for himself and his successor as coach, Al Groh.

The Jets already have the No. 16 spot in the draft from the New England Patriots, who gave it up to sign former Jets defensive coordinator Bill Belichick as head coach. The Jets also have their own pick at No. 18. With the 13th, 16th, 18th, and 27th selections, they would be in position to entice the Browns to sacrifice quality for quantity.

The potential upheaval in the order of the first round could affect the Bears at the ninth spot, but their options are likely to remain the same because every team covets the same group of players at the top.

The trade would reinforce the Bears' desire to add big receiver Plaxico Burress just to keep up with Randy Moss of Minnesota, Herman Moore of Detroit, and possibly Johnson in the division.

Browns director of football operations Dwight Clark said he would quickly give up the No. 1 pick for all four Jets' first-round picks and he would "think about it" if the Jets offer three. But there was no indication Tuesday that the Jets want to talk to the Browns. By keeping four No. 1s, Parcells could use one pick to try to replace Johnson in a draft filled with top receivers.

The city of Seattle is to blame for all this. Johnson, the first overall pick in the 1996 draft, still has two seasons left on his original Jets contract. But at $2.44 million next season, he thinks he is underpaid compared to the $6 million-a-year deal signed by former Seattle Seahawks holdout Joey Galloway with the Dallas Cowboys this off-season.

Parcells, arguing his team cannot renegotiate because of salary-cap limitations, doesn't want to risk losing Johnson in free agency. A baseball fan, Parcells saw the Seattle Mariners suffer when they were forced to trade Ken Griffey Jr. for greatly reduced value.

Johnson is looking for a renegotiated contract to put him back on top of his draft class that includes Indianapolis receiver Marvin Harrison, who also just signed an extension in the $6 million-a-year range to keep up with Galloway.

The Bucs, usually conservative in their personnel approach, added free-agent receiver Bert Emanuel two years ago after drafting Reidel Anthony in the first round in 1997. Neither has offered anything close to what Johnson has given the Jets, an average of 76 catches a year since his arrival. Johnson's eight TD catches last year were more than all the Bucs' wide receivers combined.